Ok so it started like this. A text sent to my future daughter in law saying” You wanna go on a hike with me that may possibly lead to death and/or injury?” Her response was immediate” Sounds cool , when and where?” Alas I have found my new hiking partner! Seems my four kids , now adults,have had their fair share of me convincing them that hours of hiking was fun and educational .I was in need of finding a new hiking partner ( aka-victim) My plans to Vegas was not to be because of an executive order from the Governor mandating a 2 week quarantine after returning to New York. I had already taken off my well deserved days after working almost non stop as a nurse ,sweating in layers of PPE for months ,walking past refrigerator trucks, eating free pizza at work.So Maine was calling out to me stronger then ever.Deep down inside I knew I should have been in better shape, lost that last 25 pounds, done more training but it was now or never.Tickets were booked and a trip planned in 2days.We were off to climb KATAHDIN!!!!!
My future daughter in law and I set out on our journey at 3 am - July 9- Jfk- Charlotte NC - Bangor ( Charlotte seems bizarre I know - totally different directions,) but I don’t judge. The drive up would have taken 12 hours and the 1 stop flight was 7 hours. Who cares, I’ll sleep on the plane.I was excited to be fulfilling a long time obsession, to hike Katahdin, the highest point in Maine.We ended up arriving at Baxter state park around 6 pm after our long journey of planes, trains and automobiles.
I was totally debating whether to set up our newly purchased 40 dollar tent and just sleep in the new 50k Ram truck we just rented. We decided to give it a go on the tent for the “ real camping experience”
So we schlepped our stuff up to the walk up site knowing full well we would be taking it all down before daybreak to start of the Abol/Saddle trail to reach that coveted sign I’ve been dreaming about for so many years.
We set up the tent ,half -assed, but doable.Needed a lighter to start a campfire. All those episodes of watching Naked and Afraid made me aware that a campfire would scare away wild animals. We decided to charm a light off of the campers next to us . Turns out they were wonderful folks from northern Vermont- teachers and were willing to share a light and some adult beverages as well.Life is good ,as the shirts say.
We spoke of many current topics - Covid being one , and how they are teaching during this time in an area with limited internet. I decided not to share my Covid experiences , I didn’t want that headspace . The stars were brilliant and putting on a show.We enjoyed their company throughly and it seemed to ease our fear of random bears walking through the site. I mean, when they were visiting, we were 4 people and any one bear could only eat one at a time and that sure as heck wouldn’t have been me- lol!
They told us not to do the Abol/ Saddle trail - too long they said- you’ll be hiking for 16 hours. Well they convinced my future daughter in law who happens to be an Army Vet formerly stationed in Afghanistan . She was convinced we could surely do that Hunt trail and be back before lunch.
3 am - after tripping out of the tent, freezing ,for the 3 rd time to pee that night ,my zipper opening the tent must have woken my daughter in law. The moon was waning and quite bright and I said “well your up- I’m up- let’s go!”So we took down our camp and headed off to Roaring Brook campsite for a very early start on the Hunt trail trailhead.
My daughter in law’s excitement seemed to carry me up those little rocks for the first mile,. It had a scenic river and falls that were along the path. Nothing I haven’t done already a million times with my other hiking partner, my dog.
Mile 2 seemed to be an awakening .The white dash of the AT headed straight up a giant boulder- “ Here we go- I thought” this is the real stuff now.”
All of mike 2-4 were these giant boulders, getting bigger and bigger upon each ascent . I used tree branches to lift my overweight 50+ year old body to each new level .I drifted off in thought thinking off rescue efforts should one of us fall.My daughter in law took it all in stride offering to carry my oversized backpack which I must admit, I took her up on on a few occasions, but only briefly .
We hit the tree line around 11:00 am and as I am dragging myself up the first ledge holding on to the rock by my fingertips,I hear my Veteran say “ I’m done - I’m done , this is not safe.”
“ Now it’s not safe? “ I think. The whole thing was not safe ! I mean I could have broken my leg 10 different times! Smashed my head open on a rock- anyway that’s just how I think- nurse stuff.
Indeed it seemed to be a free climbing ,cliff hanger with only 2 grab bars to get you up the next 50 feet off shear rock face. I said “ok “after looking at the obstacle . Truth is I would have called it if I saw it first at this point. There really was nothing to hold onto and we weren’t one of those trail runners that passed us. They would be bouncing gleefully up the rocks like it was not a big deal.
We had an agreement that whoever “ calls it” calls it. No judgement zone.We would stay together at all times. So we stayed on the cliff for a while soaking in the 5,000 foot air, acknowledging that the 10 year dream of Katahdin was not to be fully fulfilled today. As I sat there I realized I was enjoying the fact that I shared a new adventure with my daughter in law who might mention it fondly at my funeral one day . Nurse stuff-As I was looking out at that beautiful Maine wilderness,I noticed we were getting aeriel attacks from giant black flies. Their bites are stinging and they leave welts in their wake. So we decided to leave although it may have been nice to have eaten one of those cliff bars but we saved them for later.
After taking some obligatory insta-pics for the gram we slid down to the boulders below,. Then we slid down to the ones below that and even the ones below that.In fact , I think for me ,it was 50 percent sliding down giant boulders for miles. I later realized I had gotten cuts and scrapes where God never intended cuts and scrapes should be .On my lady parts! We arrived at the truck around 3 pm - a good 10 hours after the start. We were sweaty , smelly and exhausted by the time we reached the parking lot. Katahdin kicked our asses. We were not ready for it, Mountain wisdom. The mountain tells you when you are ready. (You tend to talk like that after climbing Katahdin .)I do consider it a success in a way because coming from New York I don’t know anyone who has actually done it. Seems I’m the only weirdo who does stuff like this.
We head off to Bangor in our absolutely muddied rental truck and checked into the Hilton hotel.Time to celebrate! We climbed that thing- that Beast of the East! All I wanted to do was sit in the hot tub at the hotel and drink a glass of Chardonnay - but the hot tub was closed for Covid . Can’t escape it.I went back to the room thinking we could go and do the town in celebration.Well I fell asleep instead, watching tv in the room . To be fair to the hotel ,the sheets were of good quality and pillows extra fluffy- which is important after Katahdin so sleeping was just as good as celebrating at this point.
The next day we head back to the airport , which is rather small, and before we headed through security we ask if ther is any food after they take our tickets .The ticket lady said no but their was a cute cafe next to the gift shop and we could eat there. The young guy at the cafe seemed to be running both the cafe and gift shop. He instinctively knew what we needed. He said “ I sell alcohol but I’m no bartender.” My daughter in law says ”give us something with rum in it and make it a double.” (I love her already)I thought. Well he was right, he was no bartender - he must have given us a triple because there I was singing ‘TheClimb ‘by Miley Cyrus acapella come 2 drinks later. I think the 20 people of Bangor airport were entertained ,but I didn’t get any tips or anything.
Anyway kids,the scoop is Hunt trail is hard, Katahdin is hard , life is hard. I do these things as a physical manifestation of getting over difficult times in my life.Ive seen too many people leave this world without ever challenging themselves, there is success in courage of trying. I’d like to return to do the Abol/Saddle trail ,but that may have been my only shot at getting up there. It takes many months of training and /or thru -hiking on the AT to summit that mountain and to be honest I may never be able to do it . That’s ok though, that rock was under my nails and those welts are on my skin and the sweat was in my eyes. Not to mention my lady parts!The experience was great. Memories made and time spent with my future daughter in law was priceless and just like the song goes” It’s all about , it’s all about the climb”.
Brian Jenkins - Oct 11, 2010 1:36 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Helped a lotHey thanks, glad it helped you. Nice job on the summit.
Brian
nartreb - Jun 4, 2014 11:48 pm - Voted 10/10
abol trail closed for 2014, maybe longerI'll be updating the route page but it may be worthwhile to point that out on the main page too
Brian Jenkins - Jun 5, 2014 12:11 am - Hasn't voted
Re: abol trail closed for 2014, maybe longerThanks, have noted it on the main page. That's a bummer.
nartreb - Jul 1, 2016 8:29 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: abol trail closed for 2014, maybe longerBaxter park website now indicates that the new Abol trail is open (though trail work continues)
Ahallock - Jul 15, 2020 6:07 pm - Hasn't voted
Hunt Trail -July 10 2020Ok so it started like this. A text sent to my future daughter in law saying” You wanna go on a hike with me that may possibly lead to death and/or injury?” Her response was immediate” Sounds cool , when and where?” Alas I have found my new hiking partner! Seems my four kids , now adults,have had their fair share of me convincing them that hours of hiking was fun and educational .I was in need of finding a new hiking partner ( aka-victim) My plans to Vegas was not to be because of an executive order from the Governor mandating a 2 week quarantine after returning to New York. I had already taken off my well deserved days after working almost non stop as a nurse ,sweating in layers of PPE for months ,walking past refrigerator trucks, eating free pizza at work.So Maine was calling out to me stronger then ever.Deep down inside I knew I should have been in better shape, lost that last 25 pounds, done more training but it was now or never.Tickets were booked and a trip planned in 2days.We were off to climb KATAHDIN!!!!!
My future daughter in law and I set out on our journey at 3 am - July 9- Jfk- Charlotte NC - Bangor ( Charlotte seems bizarre I know - totally different directions,) but I don’t judge. The drive up would have taken 12 hours and the 1 stop flight was 7 hours. Who cares, I’ll sleep on the plane.I was excited to be fulfilling a long time obsession, to hike Katahdin, the highest point in Maine.We ended up arriving at Baxter state park around 6 pm after our long journey of planes, trains and automobiles.
I was totally debating whether to set up our newly purchased 40 dollar tent and just sleep in the new 50k Ram truck we just rented. We decided to give it a go on the tent for the “ real camping experience”
So we schlepped our stuff up to the walk up site knowing full well we would be taking it all down before daybreak to start of the Abol/Saddle trail to reach that coveted sign I’ve been dreaming about for so many years.
We set up the tent ,half -assed, but doable.Needed a lighter to start a campfire. All those episodes of watching Naked and Afraid made me aware that a campfire would scare away wild animals. We decided to charm a light off of the campers next to us . Turns out they were wonderful folks from northern Vermont- teachers and were willing to share a light and some adult beverages as well.Life is good ,as the shirts say.
We spoke of many current topics - Covid being one , and how they are teaching during this time in an area with limited internet. I decided not to share my Covid experiences , I didn’t want that headspace . The stars were brilliant and putting on a show.We enjoyed their company throughly and it seemed to ease our fear of random bears walking through the site. I mean, when they were visiting, we were 4 people and any one bear could only eat one at a time and that sure as heck wouldn’t have been me- lol!
They told us not to do the Abol/ Saddle trail - too long they said- you’ll be hiking for 16 hours. Well they convinced my future daughter in law who happens to be an Army Vet formerly stationed in Afghanistan . She was convinced we could surely do that Hunt trail and be back before lunch.
3 am - after tripping out of the tent, freezing ,for the 3 rd time to pee that night ,my zipper opening the tent must have woken my daughter in law. The moon was waning and quite bright and I said “well your up- I’m up- let’s go!”So we took down our camp and headed off to Roaring Brook campsite for a very early start on the Hunt trail trailhead.
My daughter in law’s excitement seemed to carry me up those little rocks for the first mile,. It had a scenic river and falls that were along the path. Nothing I haven’t done already a million times with my other hiking partner, my dog.
Mile 2 seemed to be an awakening .The white dash of the AT headed straight up a giant boulder- “ Here we go- I thought” this is the real stuff now.”
All of mike 2-4 were these giant boulders, getting bigger and bigger upon each ascent . I used tree branches to lift my overweight 50+ year old body to each new level .I drifted off in thought thinking off rescue efforts should one of us fall.My daughter in law took it all in stride offering to carry my oversized backpack which I must admit, I took her up on on a few occasions, but only briefly .
We hit the tree line around 11:00 am and as I am dragging myself up the first ledge holding on to the rock by my fingertips,I hear my Veteran say “ I’m done - I’m done , this is not safe.”
“ Now it’s not safe? “ I think. The whole thing was not safe ! I mean I could have broken my leg 10 different times! Smashed my head open on a rock- anyway that’s just how I think- nurse stuff.
Indeed it seemed to be a free climbing ,cliff hanger with only 2 grab bars to get you up the next 50 feet off shear rock face. I said “ok “after looking at the obstacle . Truth is I would have called it if I saw it first at this point. There really was nothing to hold onto and we weren’t one of those trail runners that passed us. They would be bouncing gleefully up the rocks like it was not a big deal.
We had an agreement that whoever “ calls it” calls it. No judgement zone.We would stay together at all times. So we stayed on the cliff for a while soaking in the 5,000 foot air, acknowledging that the 10 year dream of Katahdin was not to be fully fulfilled today. As I sat there I realized I was enjoying the fact that I shared a new adventure with my daughter in law who might mention it fondly at my funeral one day . Nurse stuff-As I was looking out at that beautiful Maine wilderness,I noticed we were getting aeriel attacks from giant black flies. Their bites are stinging and they leave welts in their wake. So we decided to leave although it may have been nice to have eaten one of those cliff bars but we saved them for later.
After taking some obligatory insta-pics for the gram we slid down to the boulders below,. Then we slid down to the ones below that and even the ones below that.In fact , I think for me ,it was 50 percent sliding down giant boulders for miles. I later realized I had gotten cuts and scrapes where God never intended cuts and scrapes should be .On my lady parts! We arrived at the truck around 3 pm - a good 10 hours after the start. We were sweaty , smelly and exhausted by the time we reached the parking lot. Katahdin kicked our asses. We were not ready for it, Mountain wisdom. The mountain tells you when you are ready. (You tend to talk like that after climbing Katahdin .)I do consider it a success in a way because coming from New York I don’t know anyone who has actually done it. Seems I’m the only weirdo who does stuff like this.
We head off to Bangor in our absolutely muddied rental truck and checked into the Hilton hotel.Time to celebrate! We climbed that thing- that Beast of the East! All I wanted to do was sit in the hot tub at the hotel and drink a glass of Chardonnay - but the hot tub was closed for Covid . Can’t escape it.I went back to the room thinking we could go and do the town in celebration.Well I fell asleep instead, watching tv in the room . To be fair to the hotel ,the sheets were of good quality and pillows extra fluffy- which is important after Katahdin so sleeping was just as good as celebrating at this point.
The next day we head back to the airport , which is rather small, and before we headed through security we ask if ther is any food after they take our tickets .The ticket lady said no but their was a cute cafe next to the gift shop and we could eat there. The young guy at the cafe seemed to be running both the cafe and gift shop. He instinctively knew what we needed. He said “ I sell alcohol but I’m no bartender.” My daughter in law says ”give us something with rum in it and make it a double.” (I love her already)I thought. Well he was right, he was no bartender - he must have given us a triple because there I was singing ‘TheClimb ‘by Miley Cyrus acapella come 2 drinks later. I think the 20 people of Bangor airport were entertained ,but I didn’t get any tips or anything.
Anyway kids,the scoop is Hunt trail is hard, Katahdin is hard , life is hard. I do these things as a physical manifestation of getting over difficult times in my life.Ive seen too many people leave this world without ever challenging themselves, there is success in courage of trying. I’d like to return to do the Abol/Saddle trail ,but that may have been my only shot at getting up there. It takes many months of training and /or thru -hiking on the AT to summit that mountain and to be honest I may never be able to do it . That’s ok though, that rock was under my nails and those welts are on my skin and the sweat was in my eyes. Not to mention my lady parts!The experience was great. Memories made and time spent with my future daughter in law was priceless and just like the song goes” It’s all about , it’s all about the climb”.